What is the possibility of a civil war in Venezuela?

CARACAS, Venezuela – The emergence of opposing sides in Venezuela could lead to civil war, said Fan Heshen, director of the Institute of Latin America at Anhui University in China.

According to the analyst, due to the current internal situation of the Latin American country, if both sides of the conflict do not show prudence, the chances of tensions getting worse are great.

“If the two sides do not show restraint, it is very likely that this will result in a situation in which the two sides are in a state of emergency,” Maduro said.

This will be catastrophic for Venezuela,” said the expert. “How to solve the political crisis peacefully, without using violence, solving a crisis similar to a civil war is the greatest test for Venezuela.”

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For Heshen, the active intervention of the United States, as well as the gradual “right” shift of some countries of the Lima Group, is putting considerable pressure on Venezuela, where a confrontation between parliament and government has been taking place for some time, about two years.

“If the opposition party had not received support from the outside, it would not have been able to go forward, because Guaidó does not control the Armed Forces … The fact that he has now decided to declare himself president, is evidence that he certainly received some support,” said the director.

The analyst concluded that this external intervention caused a “violation of the temporary balance in the country, and has become an even greater threat to the domestic political situation in Venezuela.”

On Wednesday, the Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, declared himself acting head of state without any legal basis. To date, Guaidó has been recognized as interim president by 13 countries: the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Georgia.

Paul Antonopoulos is a Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies. He has an MA in International Relations and is interested in Great Power Rivalry as well as the International Relations and Political Economy of the Middle East and Latin America.